-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Formula One bosses are under increasing pressure to review their decision to stage the Bahrain Grand Prix later this month .

A British politician added his voice to the growing chorus of dissent on Friday saying motorsport officials should `` rethink '' their plans .

`` In hindsight , the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile -LRB- FIA -RRB- should not have scheduled the 2012 race so early in the season , '' said Richard Burden , a Labor member of parliament .

`` It was always going to be too early to know how far things had moved on in Bahrain since last year . F1 ca n't turn the clock back but , with three weeks to go before the race , it can still rethink . It should do so , '' he added .

`` In a context where genuine and sustainable reform is taking place , holding a Grand Prix could be a unifying event for the people of Bahrain as well as a positive showcase on the world stage . But things are not at that stage . ''

The calls come amid continuing unrest in the country with demonstrators and Bahraini authorities continuing to clash .

Burden 's words echo those made by former British F1 world champion Damon Hill on Thursday , who said running the race now could create more problems than it solves .

`` It would be a bad state of affairs , and bad for Formula One , to be seen to be enforcing martial law in order to hold the race . That is not what this sport should be about , '' Hill said .

Most recently , Bahraini officials have arrested the daughter of the human rights activist Abdulhadi al-Khawaja who is currently on hunger strike to protest the life sentence he received for his alleged role in the ongoing unrest .

In February , the country 's Formula One organizers , the Bahrain International Circuit -LRB- BIC -RRB- insisted the race would go ahead .

But Nabeel Rajab , the president of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights -LRB- a group started by al-Khawaja -RRB- urged officials to reverse the decision .

`` If Formula One go ahead with the race it will give the impression that everything is back to normal when everything is not back to normal . People are dying on a daily basis , Rajab told CNN .

`` I say think of the human rights , think of things other than just your profit and your interest . Human rights have to come first , '' he added .

`` We will welcome you back when everything is back to normal , when the killing and arrests have stopped in the streets . ''

However , the BIC insisted that the race would be safe .

`` The BIC is in regular contact with the FIA , FOM -LRB- Formula One Management -RRB- and the Bahrain government , '' it said in a statement .

`` All of the above continue to state that the grand prix goes ahead , and we are therefore going about our business of ensuring that this sporting event can be enjoyed by a hundred thousand local spectators , as well as hundreds of millions of viewers around the world . We speak to F1 teams regularly , and have received no communication regarding an unwillingness to race .

`` With particular reference to travel advice , Bahrain has had a ` green ' travel alert -LRB- i.e. no travel restrictions -RRB- from the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office for some months now . This rating is safer than even the first race in 2004 . ''

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Calls for motorsport officials to rethink running of Bahrain Grand Prix later this month

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British member of parliament says event should not have been scheduled so early in season

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Former world champion Damon Hill says running race could cause more problems that it solves

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Race scheduled to take place on April 22